Washimqton



(No Model.)

P. A. WALSH.

. GLOSURE FOR VESSELS.

.No. 571,814. Patented Nov. 24, 1896.

UNiTED STATES PATENT @EMQE.

FRANCIS A. WALSH, OF MlLXVAUKE .1, 'ISCONSIN.

CLOSURE FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 571,814, dated November24., 1896.

Application filed July 16, 1896. Serial No. 599,389. (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Farmers A. \VALSH, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofYVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inClosures for Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to closures for vessels; and it consists,essentially, in means whereby a Vessel may be securely closed by a coverwholly or partly of sheet metal, without seaming or soldering the coverto the vessel, as well as incidentally in means for the ready release ofthe cover without injury thereto, all as will be fully set forthhereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section taken through avessel embodying my present invention, taken on the line 1 l of Fig. E2.Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the cover and upper part of the vesselshown in Fig. 1. Fig. is a perspective sectional view illustrating asomewhat modified form of cover.

In the drawings accompanying the present application, A represents asheet-metal vessel having an inwardly-ext:ndin g shoulder a, from whichrises an annular flange I), the same being somewhat flared outward, asshown at c, and terminating in a head or roll (I at the top.

B represents the cover or closure, the same having an annular rim 6,with a downward annular flange f y, the part f extending inward forcontact with the outwardly-flaring part c of the vessel, and the part 9flaring outwardly, as shown.

0 represents a packing 0r gasket, prima rily held against the under sideof the cover between its rim 6 and the part f of the coveriiange, andadaptechwhen the vessel is closed, to rest between the under side ofsaid rim c and the upper face of the head or roll (Z, as shown in Fig.1.

The cover is applied to the vessel by springing the former upon thelatter, there being suificient yield. to the flange f g to permit this,and the two parts being held together by the contact of the contractedpart of the said coverflange against the part c of the vesselflange.

D is a swell formed in the part 1 of the cover-flange to aid in theremoval or release of the closure, which is accomplished by insertingany suitable tool or lever beneath said swell, as shown by the dottedlines at E in Fig. 1, and then f ulcrumiug said tool or lever upon theshoulder a and giving a quick upward turn of said tool or lever againstthe bottom edge of said swell D, when the cover will be instantly freedwithout injury and ready for use by again springing it back to place, asbefore, or when desired, as a slipcover, by simply placing it over thevessel. The top of this cover B may be continuous and raised, as shownat 72 in Figs. 1 and 2, or may be simply a fiat continuation of the rim6, or it may be cut away centrally, as shown in Fig. 3, this beingwholly immaterial so long as a sufficient rim 6 is left to bear upon thetop edge of the vessel to be closed and afford a suflicient base or bodyfor the described spring of the flange f My said cover is preferablystamped or formed up from a single piece of sheet metal and is capableof acting as a closure for vesscls other than of sheet metal, such, forexample, as glass fruit-jars and the like, so long as the latter presenta proper surface to receive the contact of the contracted part of thecover-flange and permit the latter to be sprung over the top of thevessel and held in place by a wedging contact, as described.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my cover has contact with thevessel only on a single horizontal plane and exerts a continuousdownward pressure on the inclined exterior surface of the vessel, and assaid cover is absolutely free from contact with the side or wall of thevessel above and below said line or plane of contact the describedspringing off of said cover, without injury thereto, or

any change in the shape or angular projection of the cover-flange can bereadily accomplished, and the cover reapplied in the same manner asoriginally, which would be impossible if the said coverflange coincidedin shape or angular projection with the exterior surface of the vesselat the point of contact.

Havin g thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A closure for vessels comprising a sheetmetal cover having adownward-extending flange, provided with an inward bend or contractionfor contact with the exterior surface of the vessel to be closed on asingle plane, said flange being free from contact with the vessel aboveand below said plane.

2. The combination with a vessel of a closure therefor, comprising asheet-metal cover having a downward extending flange provided with aninward bend or contraction, the diameter of the top of the said vesselbeing greater than that of the said cover-flange at the line of saidinward bend or contraction, and the said cover-flange above and belowthe line or plane of said inward bend eX- tending outwardly, free fromcontact with the side or wall of the vessel, whereby the closure iseffected by springing the cover over the top of the vessel, and the saidcover held tightly to place by the contact on a single horizontal planebetween the said inward bend or contracted part of the cover, and theexterior surface of the said vessel.

3. The combination with a vessel having an exterior shoulder near oneend and a flanged end extending upwardly and outwardly beyond theshoulder, of a closure therefor comprising a sheet-metal cover having adownward-extending flange bent or contracted inwardly for contact on asingle horizontal plane with said outwardly-extending flange of thevessel, the diameter of the top of the latter being greater than that ofthe said coverflange at the line of said inward bend or contraction, andsaid cover-flange being formed with an outward swell, whereby theclosure is effected by springing the cover over the vessel-top, and thesaid cover held tightly to place by a wedging contact, but capable ofinstant release without injury to the cover by the action of a leverinserted beneath the said swell and fulcrumed on the said shoulder.

4. The combination with a vessel of a closure therefor comprising asheet-metal cover having a spring-flange for wedging contact on a singlehorizontal plane with the vessel to be closed, a fulcrum-point on thevessel and a projection on the cover-flange adjacent to saidfulcrum-point for enabling said. cover to be released orsprung offwithout injury thereto by a suitable tool or lever.

5. A closure for vessels, com prising a sheetmetal cover of greaterdiameter than that of the vessel to be closed, and having a springflangeextending inwardly, at an angle, to the line or point of contact withthe side or wall of the vessel, and thence outwardly, whereby the saidflange is free from contact with the said side orwall both above andbelow the said line or point of contact.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing i have hereunto set my hand, atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin, in thepresence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS A. WALSH \Vitnesses:

H. G. UNDERwooD, 1;. C. ROLOFF.

